Time To Flee the Nest
by KayKayeLLe
Summary: COMPLETED Ruthie is pregnant and living with Mary, Wilson, and Billy. What's the next step in Mary's master plan? Do things work out for the best?
1. Chapter 1

(A/N: This is the second story in a trilogy, continuing from where The End of the Beginning left off. Ruthie is pregnant and left the Camden house with Mary.)

Mary and Ruthie walked through Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport after they got off their flight and were headed toward the security checkpoint where Wilson would be waiting for them on the other side. As they walked down the long hallway packed with people, Mary spotted Wilson. His muscular physique and dark hair helped him to stand out from the rest of the people crowded around waiting to meet friends and family. Her eyes stayed locked on him, not noticing anything else around her as she continued to go to him. Halfway there, Wilson saw Mary and their eyes locked. From 50 feet away and closing, they stared at each other intently, having a full conversation without even being close enough to say a word. When Mary finally reached her husband, he pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Shh. It's all going to be OK. You're back here with me. Calm down," Wilson whispered into Mary's ear loud enough so that only she could hear him as she dug her fingers into his shirt in a clenched fist.

Mary held onto Wilson for a few seconds longer before she convinced herself that it was safe to let go.

"OK," Wilson said, "let's go home."

Mary nodded and took Wilson's hand to have for the walk to the car.

"How was California?" Billy asked Mary as they went.

"It was OK."

"So, is this the girl Dad was telling me about?"

"Yeah," Mary said turning to Ruthie. "This is my sister, Ruthie."

"Hi Ruthie," Billy responded politely.

"Hi," Ruthie said meekly.

Mary looked down and smiled widely at Ruthie. She was doing all of this for her benefit, and for it to work out Mary had to be nice to Ruthie. She had to remind herself that she was the one who offered for Ruthie to come here. She shouldn't resent her.

The car ride home was long and silent. There was a slight amount of tension in the car, and Mary didn't seem like herself. She sat with tears in her eyes and her hand on Wilson's leg as he drove. Billy had about a million questions to ask Ruthie and wanted so badly to tell Mary about his last day of school, but he knew when he should keep quiet, and now was definitely one of those times.

Once they all arrived home, the four piled out of the car. Wilson immediately went over to Mary, who shrugged him off with a simple "we'll talk later." Mary, Wilson, Billy, and Ruthie walked inside the three-bedroom townhouse, all of them equally exhausted.

"Well, it's 10:30 and way past Billy's bedtime, so I'll put him to bed," Wilson announced.

"But Dad, I want to talk to Mary," Billy whined.

"Tomorrow," he responded leading his son toward his bedroom.

They left the living room, leaving only Mary, Ruthie, and the extreme quiet that came with the night.

"So, um, want me to give you the grand tour?" Mary asked her sister.

Ruthie smiled. "I'd like that."

"Well, this is the living room- T.V., couch, nothing special." Mary walked toward the kitchenette in the corner of the main room. "This is the kitchen. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I know you missed dinner."

"No, I'm OK," Ruthie graciously declined.

"Are you sure? Our food is your food."

"I'm sure."

Mary then walked out of the kitchen and down a tiny hallway with 4 closed doors. "Billy's bedroom," Mary said pointing to the first room on the left, "bathroom with a shower/bathtub thing," the next room down the hall on the left, "at the end is mine and Wilson's room, and here is your room," Mary said opening the door to the right of them, the only room on that side of the hallway. "It's not as big as the attic, but this is what we have."

Ruthie walked into the bedroom and put her bag on the twin bed with pink floral comforter. The walls were white, the sliding doors of the closet were ajar, and the grey carpet looked like no one had ever stepped on it before.

"No one has really been in here before, so you can break it in."

There was a big smile on Ruthie's face. "I really like it." Ruthie looked around the room one more time. "I appreciate it Mary. Thank you."

Mary just realized that Wilson almost always calls her "Mare." She wasn't even listening to Ruthie. The faint sound of tears echoing throughout the practically empty room grabbed Mary's attention. She turned Ruthie's face toward her and saw tears running down her cheeks. She pulled Ruthie in for a hug, holding her in a sisterly manner. 

"I love you Ruthie, and we're really glad you are here. Just think, you moved across the country to live with your cool older sister. Sounds like fun, huh?"

"Pregnant twelve year old flees childhood home and seeks shelter across the country with her sister, sounds like a TV movie on the women's channel to me."

Mary laughed and ruffled Ruthie's hair. "You're really smart, you know that?"

"That's what everyone tells me."

Mary smiled sympathetically. "Well, it's late- here anyways. I know its only 7:30 at home, but you should get used to the new time and try to get some sleep. But, I tell you what- if you're not tired you can go and watch some TV if you keep it low."

Ruthie smiled, "Thanks, but I think I'll just unpack and go to bed. I'm exhausted from today."

"Me, too."

"Goodnight then," Ruthie said.

"Good night," Mary said and walked toward the door. Just as she was about to walk out of the room, she turned around. "If you need anything Ruthie, just knock."

Ruthie nodded, and Mary closed the door behind her. She walked across the hall and peered in on Billy who was already sound asleep. She smiled at the sight of him- she loved having Billy for a son. Now it was almost like having Ruthie as a daughter, too. And in nine months, then what? She would be a grandmother?

You all responded so well to the first story, I hope you like this one. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Mary walked into her bedroom, finding Wilson waiting for her on the bed. He smiled when he saw her, realizing she wasn't in the best of moods. Mary sat down on the bed next to him and took his hand.

"Are you OK?" Wilson asked his wife.

"I don't know, I think so," Mary responded sullenly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Mary stood up and went over to the dresser, rummaging through the clothes until she found her nightgown. "I'm kind of tired."

"So you're not going tell me about it?"

Mary didn't answer Wilson; she just walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, Mary and Wilson were both in bed. Mary lay square in the middle of her side staring straight up at the ceiling. Wilson rolled over toward Mary, but she didn't budge.

"Can I ask you a question?" Wilson finally asked her. Mary turned her head to face him, signaling for him to go ahead. "I'm a little confused. Why are you so worked up over all of this?"

Mary didn't say anything; she just lifted her head and rolled over, fitting her body against the side of Wilson. 

"You know, I don't like it when you're this distant."

"I'm not being 'distant'. I just don't have anything to say," Mary said.

Despite the fact that Mary didn't want to talk, Wilson still persevered. "What did your parents say when you told them we were married?"

"They didn't really care. My mom just asked why we didn't say anything when we were there a couple of weeks ago."

"And what did you say?"

"That we got too wrapped up in Ruthie and forgot."

Wilson laughed.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?"

"It's just that if you wanted to tell them we were married then you would have made it a point to tell them."

"Hey, I wanted them to know."

"Yes, but you didn't want to tell them. There's a difference."

"Yeah, well…" Mary responded, not sure of an appropriate comeback.

Wilson kissed the top of Mary's head. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said squeezing him a little bit tighter. Today had been the longest day Mary had had since she and Wilson eloped. All he wanted to do right now was sleep the night away. She had a very bad feeling that she would need her rest for tomorrow.

Wilson awoke the next morning exhausted. He rolled over, still not completely awake, and felt the bed where Mary should have been. He found it empty, and finding that odd he began to wake himself up. As he became more and more aware of his surroundings, he heard Mary crying. He opened his eyes fully and looked around the room. He saw Mary staring blankly out the window crying while listening into the phone. An instant wave of panic overtook Wilson, but it quickly subsided once he began to really watch her. He noticed that her tears were not sad ones, but rather ones of anger and frustration. She was not happy with whomever she was talking to.

Instead of getting up to find out exactly what was going on, he stayed in bed and continued to watch Mary. He sat upright and listened as she talked, concentrating on what she was saying and the tone in her voice. She screamed out things like, "please" and "you have it all wrong." Mary's tone was angry, but he could tell by how carefully she seemed to select her words that she was scared- possibly frightened by the person on the other end of this perplexing conversation.

Mary's crying got even more intense, almost drowning out her words. She raised her voice so that she could hear herself talk, and continued to say things that made absolutely no sense to Wilson.

"I had nothing to do with it! I didn't even talk to her then!"

There was a pause in the one-sided conversation that Wilson had immersed himself in, and following that Mary let out a frustrated scream. She hung up the cordless phone and threw it hard against the wall, the battery flying off on impact and landing on the bed next to Wilson's hand. Startled by her actions, he picked up the battery and the battery cover on the pillow.

"Uh…do you need these?" he asked Mary.

Mary turned around to see Wilson staring at her and she cried even harder. "No," she said between her sobs.

Wilson finally got out of bed and went over to Mary. He put his hands gently on her arms and just looked at her. He didn't even need to say anything to her, she automatically embraced him, putting her head on his shoulder and weeping uncontrollably. She cried for a long time, only occasionally stopping to snivel or to wipe her eyes. After 10 minutes, Wilson lifted her head up gently and stared in her eyes. She wasn't going to give away any information through her hazel pools, so Wilson was forced to pry it out of her.

"Who was on the phone?"

"My parents."

Her parents. That sure explained a lot. But why would they make her cry like this? He had never seen Mary this upset before. "And what did they want?"

"To yell at me."

Wilson was even more confused. "Why?"

"Because they hate me," she spat back at him. 

"They do not," Wilson said kindly. 

"Yes, they do."

Wilson sighed. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, they obviously don't love me, so they must hate me." Wilson tried to interject his opinion but Mary pushed forward. "If they loved me, they wouldn't have just done what they did. They called to tell me how much of a screw up I am. They said that you're too good for me, and all of this stuff…I can't even believe them."

Wilson sat down on the bed next to them, pulling Mary down next to him. Now he was concerned. "What did they say to you?"

"You know, they said the same thing Ruthie said to me."

"What?"

"They told me that they assumed that I had slept with every guy who looked at me funny. I told them that they were wrong and that it was none of their business, but they kept talking about it. Ruthie told me the same thing before. What, do I have licentious stamped on my forehead and I just can't see it?" Wilson laughed hardily. "It's not funny Wilson. They really hurt me. It hurts that this is what people think of me. Do you think I'm that way?" she asked with fresh tears filling up in her eyes.

He touched her face with the back of his hand. "Of course not, because it is not true."

"Then why does the rest of the world feel this way?"

"Maybe because they resent how beautiful you are."

Mary blushed. "Or maybe they're all mad that I'm married to the best man in the whole world."

Wilson put his arm around Mary and pulled her in closer to him. He relished their relationship and was desperately afraid of no longer being Mary's confidante. He was well aware of the fact that she told him more things than she told anyone else, and she had for forever. He always enjoyed watching her interact with other people and studying the way she was around them. The most interesting to watch was Mary and her family. He could always tell when she was withholding information from them- information that he could easily get out of her later. He had assumed that she did things like that because she had trust issues, probably stemming from when he family shipped her out to Buffalo without any food, water, or compassion. He knew her the best out of anyone on this Earth, and now he knew that she still wasn't telling the whole story.

"What else did they say to you?"

Mary sighed heavily. He had caught her. "They said that Ruthie being pregnant is my fault. I set the example for her to go out and have sex with Peter. You know, since Lucy is so perfect and my Mom was less than liberal on the whole subject. Just because I hold a kind of modern opinion it _had_ to be my fault. Maybe they're in denial- but the way they said it…they have no right to accuse me of that." Mary lifted her head and looked into Wilson's eyes. "I don't know why they can hurt me so much. Every time they talk to me I get hurt. Maybe I should just stop talking to them."

Wilson partially agreed with Mary. He saw how they did not treat her as an equal member of the Camden family. Still, he had to be a good husband and try to keep Mary from cutting off all contact with her family if that was possible. "They were just using you as a scapegoat. Don't take it personally."

"But I do take it personally," she said quietly.

"Do they know that? Do they know that they're on the verge of loosing their daughter?"

Mary cringed at the words, but it was true. She could easily cut herself off from Camden civilization without any second thoughts. Now that she had Wilson, Billy, and Ruthie to occupy her time she didn't need them at all. It was now or never. "I don't want to give them that kind of power over me by telling them. Besides, I can take it. I don't want them to start yelling at someone else besides me. I can take the wrap for Ruthie," she said nuzzling closer into Wilson, "it's OK."

"It doesn't sound like it's OK to me."

Mary rolled her eyes. Wilson knew her too well to be fooled by any of her mind trickery. She moved away from him and stood up. "I'm going to run out and get some doughnuts for breakfast."

Wilson heaved a sigh as he stood up as well. "OK, fine."

Mary went over to the nightstand and picked up her purse. As she bent over slightly to reach it, Mary saw the mark she had made on the wall from when she threw the phone. She smiled slightly at the thought of that morning's abusive conversation being the last between her and her parents. "Bye," she said to him quietly as she got out her car keys.

Mary walked out of the room and Wilson lied back on the bed. He had seen Mary smile. He had to do something; he couldn't let her give up this easily. Something had to give for her to be OK again. Wilson opened Mary's drawer of their dresser and pulled out her navy blue address book. He looked up a telephone number of someone known to be objective in matters of the family. Wilson picked up the battery, the battery cover, and the phone and pieced them back together. He clicked on the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Matt, it's Wilson."

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update. I got really into this chapter, though. Its kind of all Mary and Wilson, but trust me this has a point in the plot. Next chapter will be the Matt and Wilson conversation and a Ruthie and Wilson convo.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm loving the response I'm getting to this series. I hope you guys like this chapter. I actually had fun writing it, for once. 

***Just remember, Wilson has just called Matt after Mary left to go get breakfast. Her parents called and yelled at her.

"Good," Matt responded into the phone, "I was meaning to call you guys. Is all of this stuff true?"

Wilson was slightly relieved he didn't have the time to explain things to Matt. "Depends on what you heard," he shot back. "Whom did you talk to?"

"My parents. They told me that Ruthie's pregnant and living with you and Mary. You guys are married?"

"Yeah," Wilson said smiling.

"I knew it. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Now, about Ruthie…" Matt said getting down to business. "Is she there? Could I talk to her?"

"I could ask her," Wilson offered.

"Ok, thanks."

Wilson walked out of the bedroom, opening the door, and went to find Ruthie. He went down the hallway and poked his head into her bedroom only to find it empty. He continued his quest into the living room, where Billy was sitting on the couch with Ruthie watching Saturday morning cartoons.

"Ruthie," Wilson beckoned. She turned around. "Matt is on the phone. Do you want to talk to him?"

"Does he know?" Ruthie knew this question was irrelevant. Either way she wasn't ready to speak with any other member of her family. She still didn't feel comfortable talking with Mary.

"Yeah, he does."

"Then no. I…I can't. Not yet."

Wilson nodded. "I understand completely."

There was something in Wilson's voice that comforted Ruthie. As he walked away and back into the bedroom to talk in private, Ruthie couldn't help but think about him more. He seemed like someone she could talk with- someone she could really confide things in. Ruthie looked over at Billy sitting next to her, his eyes intently glued to the glowing television in front of them. It was then that Ruthie realized why Wilson seemed so understanding, he had been through this before. He was a teen father. Not at twelve mind you, but Ruthie felt like she could talk to him better than she could with Mary. She knew deep down in her heart that he wouldn't judge her, and definitely not with the scrutiny of a Camden- even if that particular Camden was the rebellious one of the nine-member clique of perfectionists…ten if you counted their idealistic dog that Ruthie seemed to long for more than she anticipated doing. 

Wilson, after discussing the shock over Ruthie being pregnant with Matt, went on to the real reason he had contacted him. "Could I ask you a favor?"

Matt found this to be odd. Why would Wilson be asking him for a favor? "Um…sure."

"You're parents called Mary this morning and said some not-so-nice things to her. I'm not sure exactly what they said, but Mary was crying; and you and I both know that Mary never cries."

"They made her cry?" Matt asked in astonishment. 

"Yeah. She was really upset. I've never seen her like that. I was thinking maybe you could call your parents and get them to apologize, or at least call back and try to talk it out."

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything. They can be pretty stubborn."

"Must be where Mary gets it from," Wilson commented.

Matt smiled. It was then he realized that his sisters truly were in capable and loving hands. "I'll call them and unless there is some sort of easy resolution you'll hear from me again."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Matt replied. "Bye."

Wilson hung up the phone and walked out of the room to go check on Billy. He entered the living room and sat down on the couch next to Ruthie, observing the two children watching TV.

"Do you like this show?" Wilson said after a while of sitting there, trying to make light conversation.

"Yeah!" Billy answered enthusiastically. "That guy doesn't like those two guys, but those two guys don't know it- it's so funny!" Billy said pointing at the cartoon characters on the screen to explain the plot to his father.

"I see," Wilson said smiling. He turned to Ruthie and could tell that she was less than enthused by the so-called entertainment.

"When is Mary going to be back?" she asked Wilson.

"In less than five minutes. She went to get breakfast."

"Get what for breakfast?" Billy asked.

"Doughnuts."

"Yes!" Billy said in excitement. Doughnuts were his favorite things for breakfast.

Ten minutes, four commercials, and one cartoon character slipping on a banana peel later, Mary walked through the front door carrying a box filled with breakfast for the occupants of the tiny townhouse. Her eyes were moist as she placed the box gingerly on the table and quietly mumbled, "Here guys, eat," referring to the children. When Wilson went to approach her, Mary grabbed his hand tightly and dragged him into the bedroom- a spot they seemed to frequent more and more often now that Ruthie had arrived. 

Mary stopped pulling Wilson once they entered the room and turned to face him. She stared deeply into his being through his eyes before embracing him in the most sensual hug they had ever shared. "Thank you," she whispered softly into the ear that was less than half an inch from her lips. 

Wilson knew exactly what she was talking about. Before Mary slipped out the door this morning Wilson dropped a card into her purse, hoping that she would find it when she went out. Today was Mary and Wilson's one month "anniversary", and he made sure that he did a little something special for her. The card had been a blank one- one which he covered the entire two inside panels and the back with words that attempted to convey to Mary how much he truly cared for her and the joy he felt because the two of them were finally united as husband and wife. In fact, he was actually secretly happy that Mary's parents had called today. It would make his card even more special and meaningful to her. 

Mary squeezed Wilson tighter as tears with deep feelings behind them fell from her eyes and onto his shoulder. 

"You have no idea how much what you wrote means to me. I mean, I was looking through my purse for my car keys, and I found it…and the way you worded it. I love you so much."

Wilson gently rubbed her back. "I love you, too, Mare."

"I just feel so bad that I didn't do anything for you," she confessed.

"Don't. I just did this to make you happy, not to get anything in return."

"And you did make me happy- very happy. After the morning I had-"

Wilson didn't even let her finish. "I know, I know."

Mary pulled away from Wilson and looked deep into his eyes one more time before kissing him like she hadn't done in days. Wilson smiled as her lips parted from his.

"Happy one month Mary."

A smile crept up on her lips. "You, too, Wilson."

The two of them were quiet for a little while as they took in each other's presence. As the pair stared back at each other in silence, the sounds of the rest of the house began to seep in. Mary heard Billy talking to Ruthie, puling her out of her trance and back to reality. 

"We should, uh, go watch them," she said, snapping out of passion more and more with every word.

"Yeah," Wilson agreed, and the two of them walked back to the kitchen.

Mary and Wilson found Billy with chocolate icing all over his face and Ruthie pulling apart his doughnut with her fingers.

"Is something wrong Ruthie?" Wilson asked.

"Not really," She answered quietly, "I just…uh…could we talk Wilson?"

Wilson was taken off guard. He looked to Mary and she nodded approvingly at him.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Could we go into my room?" she suggested, making it obvious she wanted privacy.

"Of course," he said smiling.

As Mary watched her sister and her husband trail off to Ruthie's bedroom, she was slightly concerned. Why couldn't Ruthie talk to her? Oh well, it didn't matter all that much. She seemed to be OK as far as Mary could tell, and seeming to be OK was a good thing. "OK" was what everyone constantly strived for. "OK" was reassuring. "OK" made everything all right.

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	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the wait between chapters. I've been busy with my websites. Hope you like this one.           

Wilson followed Ruthie into her bedroom, curious as to why she wanted to be so secretive and why she had chosen him to converse with rather than her own flesh and blood. Ruthie sat down on her bed, nervously ringing her hands as Wilson took the spot next to her on the bed. As he sat down, Ruthie remembered how Lucy's bed used to squeak when someone would put their weight on it. She wouldn't have to hear that sound anymore, at least for a while anyways.

"So Ruthie, what's up?" Wilson asked as he grew impatient.

Ruthie sighed heavily and looked at Wilson with tears in her eyes. "Do my parents hate me?"

"Now where would you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Mary. I heard her talking to you this morning."

"You're parents don't hate you," he said earnestly, "they're just not that happy with Mary right now."

"Why? Because she took me to live with her?"

"No, no, no," he told her.

"Then why?" she asked.

"Honestly? I think it's just an amalgam of everything over the past 3 years. She's kind of disappointed them."

"I heard her say that they don't love her anymore, and I agree with her."

"Really?" Wilson asked intrigued. "Why?"

"Ever since the whole gym thing she hasn't been the same person as she was before that night. They love the old Mary, not this Mary. I can definitely see why she would say that."

Wilson thought about what Ruthie had said. She was right. The Mary he knew in his youth was not the Mary he had married. The Mary he knew in Buffalo was not even the Mary he had married. Sure, he loved all of the many "Marys", but she was indeed a very dynamic character in the ever-changing novel that is his life.

"Does Mary hate me?" Ruthie asked Wilson quietly.

"No," Wilson answered, the shock in his voice over Ruthie's comment apparent.

"She hasn't really talked to me since I got here. No, before that actually. I don't think she's said two words to me since we got to the airport."

"What about when she showed you around the house?"

"Well, besides that. Is she mad at me or something?"

"No, she's just having a hard time right now, that's all."

"With what?"

Wilson thought for a second before answering. He really shouldn't be talking about this with Ruthie. "Uh, could we talk about something else?"

"OK." Ruthie racked her brain. "When did you and Mary get back together?"

"About a week after your sister's wedding."

"Did you meet her in Florida?"

"No, I actually saw her when she was between flights in Seattle. That's where I was living before I moved down here."

"Wow. You really moved clear across the country. Was it worth it?" Ruthie asked intrigued.

Wilson looked at Ruthie and smiled. "Yes. But you know, I could ask you the same thing. Do you think it was worth it?"

Ruthie's smile quickly faded. "I don't know. I hope it was."

"Well, if it's any consolation, if I was in your position I would have done what you did."

"Wait a second, you were in my position, sort of."

"Yeah, I guess I was Ruthie." Wilson never thought of it that way. He had completely forgot about being a teen father.

"What did you do when you found out?" Ruthie asked.

"Well, we told her parents, then my parents. Then we made plans and got married."

"What was Billy's mother like?"

Wilson smiled without even realizing it. "She was a really great person. To tell you the truth, before I got her pregnant I really didn't think she was the best person in the world, but she changed. She changed for me and the baby inside of her." Wilson paused for a second, but then he decided to continue. "Sometimes I really miss her."

"But having Mary must help right?" Ruthie watched Wilson's face completely switch gears at the mention of Mary's name.

"Your sister is wonderful and I love her very much."

Ruthie smiled at Wilson, realizing his love for Mary was the purest thing she had ever watched blossom. 

Just then, there was a knock on Ruthie's bedroom door. Following the rapping, Mary entered the room. 

"How's everything going you guys?" Mary asked, specifically looking at Wilson.

"Excuse me for a second," Wilson said to Ruthie, and walked out of the room with Mary.

He took Mary into the living room, and, keeping his voice down, proceeded to tell Mary that Ruthie thought Mary hated her. Mary agreed she needed to do something about that. She certainly did not hate Ruthie. "Yet another apology," Mary thought as she approached the door. "Here we go again."

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	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates. I've been busy and lazy, not a very good combination. Anyway, I want to say that for the slight bit of medical stuff in this chapter, I am not a doctor and I know nothing about anything. Go with that.

Exactly five weeks later, Wilson entered his bedroom in search of his sleeping wife. When he had heard Ruthie go into the bathroom early that Saturday morning, Wilson instinctively got up to see if there was anything he could do to help her. Clearly, she didn't need him. But even more apparent was that she wanted Mary. Wilson wrote it off as some sort of "woman thing" that he would never fully understand.

He walked over to Mary's side of the bed and stood next to her. She lay on her stomach, her hand casually hung off the end of the bed. Wilson picked up Mary's hand in his and brought it to his lips gently. Mary stirred slightly and her hand twitched. Wilson laid Mary's arm lightly back onto the bed and softly shook her shoulder.

Mary groaned when she felt him. She knew her presence was needed in the realm of the awake. 

"Mare," Wilson said quietly, "time to get up."

"Why?"

"Because Ruthie needs you."

Mary groaned again. She hated it when someone "needed" her. It always cut into her personal time. She rolled over on to her back and her eyes fluttered open. "What time is it?"

"Ten to seven."

"It is Saturday, right?"

Wilson laughed. "Yes."

"What could she possibly want at this hour?"

"She's having morning sickness again."

"Great," she said sounding cynical. Mary rubbed her eyes before sitting upright. "OK, I'm up," she announced as if the world would not continue without her. Mary made her way to a standing position and rested her forehead on Wilson's shoulder. "Why does it have to be morning sickness? Why can't it be afternoon sickness?"

Wilson rubbed the back of Mary's head. "I don't know honey."

Mary lifted her head and looked into Wilson's eyes. He stared back at her, telling her that she should be on her way by now.

"I'm going, I'm going."

Mary turned away from her husband and went toward the door. She only took two steps, however, before Wilson placed his hands on Mary's hips and spun her back around to face him. Mary smiled at him as he went in for his morning kiss.

"I love you," he said once they parted.

"I love you, too."

Wilson went to kiss Mary one more time but she stopped him, pressing her finger to his lips. "No more of that. It's a lot of work to be pregnant."

Mary left the room with a giggled as she went down the tiny hallway. She knocked on the door to the bathroom before opening it. Inside the small lavatory, Mary found Ruthie with her head drooped over the toilet. Ruthie heard Mary enter and stood up.

"I think I'm done," she said.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked.

"I guess so," she replied putting her hand to her stomach.

Mary reached out to Ruthie and lifted up the front of her shirt to expose her stomach. Her stomach was beyond flat, it was actually sunken in a little. Mary could also plainly make out Ruthie's ribcage. Mary reached down for the scale on the floor and moved it into the middle of the room. She took Ruthie's hand and tugged at it until Ruthie stepped onto the scale. Mary then reached down, turned the electronic scale on, and within seconds Ruthie's weight was calculated: 79 pounds.

"Ruthie!" Mary scolded her.

"What? It's not my fault," she whined.

"Stay here," Mary said as she went off to get Wilson. She found him, still in the bedroom, and dragged him into the bathroom.

"Look at her!" Mary said to Wilson, exaggerating the situation. "She's all skin and bones. That can't be good."

"Well, Ruthie was never a big girl to begin with."

"She's nine weeks pregnant and she weighs 79 pounds!"

Wilson put his hand on Mary's shoulder to calm her down. "Look, when she goes to the doctor on Wednesday, that's the time to bring it up."

"Yeah, but-"

Billy, who stood at the bathroom door, interrupted Mary. "What are we doing?" he asked.

"We're going to go get Ruthie a big bowl of ice cream," Wilson said.

"Ice cream?" Ruthie said, putting her hand over her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick again."

Four days later, Mary and Ruthie were sitting in the waiting room of Doctor Hammond's office waiting for Ruthie's name to be called. Ruthie was sitting cross-legged, nervously tapping her foot against one of the legs of the chairs. Mary put her hand on Ruthie's knee to stop her from fidgeting.

"Don't be so nervous. It's going to be just fine," Mary reassured Ruthie.

Ruthie looked up at Mary and smiled. "Thanks for making sure you didn't have to work this afternoon so you could take me to the doctor."

"Well, what are sisters for?" Mary said.

Mary and Ruthie sat in silence for another 6 minutes until Ruthie was called by one of the nurses.

"The doctor would like to speak to you beforehand, he does this with all the patients, so have a seat right in here," the nurse said opening the door to another room.  "He'll be with you in just a moment."

Ruthie sits down in a chair, as does Mary. She looks over to Mary for guidance and she nods. 

"This is normal. It's OK," she said picking up Ruthie's hand for a second. Mary really didn't understand why Ruthie was this scared. She didn't remember her having a problem with doctors before.

Dr. Hammond walked in a few seconds later carrying Ruthie's chart in his hand. He looked at both sisters strangely as he sat down in the maroon leather chair on the opposite side of the desk. He stared straight at Mary and spoke. "So, Ms. Camden, how are we doing today?"

Mary tried very hard not to smile. "Well, I'm fine, thanks, but I'm not Ms. Camden. She is," Mary said pointing at Ruthie.

"Hi," Ruthie said meekly.

"Oh," the doctor said sounding slightly confused. "Then who are you?"

"I'm Ruthie's sister, Mary. Ruthie lives with me."

"Tell the world," Ruthie thought as Mary started to divulge all of Ruthie's life to a middle-aged man.

Dr. Hammond was still bewildered. "But…but it says here that you think you're pregnant," he said, this time looking Ruthie in the eye.

"Well, I don't think I'm pregnant, I know I am. I went to a doctor back in California where I am from and they confirmed it."

"And how old are you?"

Ah, the inevitable question Ruthie could not avoid. "I'm 12."

The confirmation of her age changed Dr. Hammond's entire perception of Ruthie. Pregnant at 12, he sure felt like he had her number. "I see." Instinctively, however her put all of his reservations aside and got down to business. "I'm going to ask you a few question before I exam you. DO you have a problem with this?"

Ruthie gulped hard. "No."

"I understand that you are sexually active. For how long?"

"About two months." 

"Was it protected sex?"

Ruthie thought about this for a second before answering that it was not. She really needed to talk with Mary. She had no idea she had to be so prepared for this visit. 

"Do any women in your family have breast cancer?"

Ruthie looked at Mary. Mary shook her head, so Ruthie responded. "No."

"Have you had sex with anyone who you know has a sexually transmitted disease?"

"How can you tell?" Ruthie asked the doctor.

"Well, you usually can't. Did they ever tell you about having a sexually transmitted disease, or STD for short?"

"Um…" Ruthie was choking under the pressure.

"How many partners have you had?"

"One," Ruthie responded firmly. She knew this answer was correct.

"Was he a virgin?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then he most likely does not have an STD. It is very, very rare to be born with one or to get them form any other type of contact."

Ruthie nodded.

"When was your last period?"

The "p" word. "My first period was about 3 months ago, then I had sex and got pregnant so it stopped." 

"Have you had any vaginal discharge or spotting between periods?" 

"No." 

"Do you smoke, drink or take any drugs?"

Mary looked at Ruthie. She was getting more information out of this than she bargained for, but it saved her the trouble of having an awkward conversation with Ruthie later. 

"No. Never."

"Good," he responded. "That's good." He paused for a moment, taking notes in Ruthie's chart. "Now I am going to examine you. I take I that you want your sister to go with you?" Ruthie nodded. "Well, why don't you two women walk across the hall into the exam room and I will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Mary said.

Dr. Hammond got up, showed the girls the room, and then went down the hallway for a moment.

"Did you ever do this?" Ruthie asked Mary once she was inside the room.

"Once, after Wilson and I got married. Why?"

"Just wondering."

About 15 minutes later, Mary, Ruthie, and Dr. Hammond were back in the office-type room once again.

"Well Ruthie you'll be happy to know that everything looks good and that the baby is doing just fine."

"Great," Ruthie said.

"I have just one concern," he said, "your weight."

"I'm concerned over that as well," Mary told him. "What should she do?"

"Are you experiencing morning sickness?" the doctor asked Ruthie.

"Yes, every single morning for two months now."

"Well, then there really is nothing much you can do. If your weight continues to be a problem, we will address it then. For now though, try not to worry about it. I'm sure you have enough on you mind."

Mary and Ruthie both smiled amiably at Dr. Hammond while internally breathing a sigh of relief. Both of them were thankful that that was over. Neither of them would ever want to go through that again.

Don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

Three months after her first doctor's appointment, the least of Ruthie's concerns was being pregnant. Since she was so distracted by everything else going on in her life, her eighth grade year was proving to be her toughest yet. She was still doing pretty well in school, averaging mostly A's and B's as the first semester came to a close, but she seemed to struggle with everything. That had never been the case before. 

Wilson stood in the kitchen doing the dishes after dinner while Mary started to get Billy ready for bed. Wilson observed Ruthie as she stared blankly at her English assignment for nearly a half an hour. She was sitting at the kitchen table after she had helped to clear it off.

"Do you need some help with that?"

The sound of Wilson's voice snapped her out of it. "My English teacher is insane. She threw stupid Shakespeare at us, a ninth grade book, and left us to ourselves to interpret it. Everyone is struggling."

"Maybe I could help. What is it, 'Romeo and Juliet'?"

"No. Mrs. Brady thought that everyone would just go out and rent the movie if we had to read that. We're reading 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'."

"That's a movie, too" Wilson pointed out.

Ruthie's eyes went wide with glee. "Really? Could I go rent it?"

Wilson smiled. "After you read the book."

"All right," Ruthie said sulking. 

"Well, I remember reading that in school," Wilson told Ruthie. "Would you like me to help?"

"OK," Ruthie conceded in defeat. "But it's not just that, though. I'm too preoccupied to try and decipher this stuff."

Wilson took the seat next to Ruthie. "The baby?"

"No, Peter."

"Peter?" Wilson asked. "Who's Peter?"

Ruthie rubbed her stomach. "The father."

"Oh," Wilson said, not sure what else to say. 

"I mean, you think he would have tried you contact me by now," Ruthie continued. "A letter, a phone call- anything."

"Does he even know you're here?"

"I don't know. If he cared at all he would have found that out."

Wilson's tone turned sympathetic. "You can't make him care Ruthie, especially not from 2,000 miles away."

"I know," Ruthie said with tears welling up in her eyes.

Mary walked into the kitchen and stood next to Ruthie. "What are you guys doing?" she inquired.

"Talking," Ruthie replied.

"About?"

"Peter," Wilson said.

Mary scanned her internal database of names. It took her a while, but she finally remembered who Peter was. "The guy who…" Mary's voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

Wilson nodded.

"Oh, don't think about him," Mary said nonchalantly. "He doesn't deserve your time or energy."

"But I miss him," Ruthie admitted, "a lot actually. I can't get him off my mind."

"And why do you think that is?" Wilson asked. Ruthie shrugged. "How long were you two together for?"

"About six months I guess."

"What do you mean you guess?" Mary asked, taking a seat at the table so that she could properly join the conversation.

"We never officially 'got together' or anything. I met him at school, and then when I broke up with my other boyfriend we were sort of a thing." Ruthie stopped for a second, and then continued to give them the history of Peter Petrowski. "I just can't get him off of my mind. It's weird."

Mary looked at Wilson and he shrugged. He certainly had no idea why Ruthie kept thinking about this young man. He had never even met the fellow. But from the look in Mary's eyes, he could tell that she thought something was strange about this whole thing. After he thought about it for a second, he agreed with her. He had a strange feeling about this Peter guy- like he was no good for Ruthie, or even for him. Something told him that he was going to be meeting the father of Ruthie's unborn child, and a lot sooner than he ever planned to.

(A/N: Sorry, I know that this is short. I am going away tomorrow and won't be home for a week, and I wanted to get this chapter done and up so here it is. I hope it will satisfy you all until I come back. ;) And trust me, this is going somewhere. For now, bear with me.)

Thanks for reading and please review!!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry about the long time between updates. I wrote this chapter pretty quickly, in about three days actually. But then I had to come home and type it up, bleh! Anyway, this chapter is more of a decent length. And for the future, maybe about 3 or four more chapters for this story. Then the next one will come, and I already have about 1 and a half chapters written for that. Hopefully I will get inspired sometime.

Mary checked everything before she left to go to work. She made sure that the house wad tidy, the beds were made, and that she had everything in her wheeled carry-on bag. Today, she was flying to Dallas then to Charleston, then back home to Ft. Lauderdale. The last thing she did before she went to work was write down where she was flying to that day and the times of the flights for Wilson. As he has put it to her, "God forbid something happens on an airplane the day you are working. This way I'll know whether or not to be worried. Besides, I like to keep track of you." Every time Mary made her list on a sticky note and stuck it to their refrigerator door, Mary pictured Wilson saying that to her. Even though months have passed since he had asked her to do that for him, she could still picture it like it was yesterday. Knowing that he cared meant everything to her.

Running approximately three minutes behind schedule, Mary went toward the door. When she out her hand on the doorknob, the telephone rang. "I don't have time for this," Mary said as she reached for the portable. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mrs. Camden?"

Mary sighed. "No, this is Mrs. West. Who's calling?"

"Mrs. Tatum from East Fort Lauderdale Middle School. Are you Ms. Camden's guardian?"

"For the time being, yes. I hate to be rude, but I have to get to work."

"Oh yes, of course. I am so sorry to bother you, it is just that U would like to meet with you to discuss Ruthie."

"Well, I'll be home from work around three, so anytime after that is fine with me," Mary said without asking any further questions. There were a lot of things that you could "discuss" about Ruthie, and any particulars would have been helpful. However, she was late.

"Tomorrow at quarter to four?"

"Perfect. Now should I bring Ruthie along with me?"

"Yes, please," Mrs. Tatum said.

"Ok, thanks for calling," Mary said trying to wrap up the conversation.

"See you tomorrow."

"Mary grabbed her pen, went over to the fridge sticky note, wrote "Mrs. Tatum 3:45" on it, then she walked out the door. Dallas, ho!

Mary worked late that night, and on the nights that she does, Wilson gets pizza for dinner. Mary wasn't _that_ late that night, but it did leave some down time between dinner and her arrival back home. Wilson walked over to her refrigerator and read the sticky note.

"Mrs. Tatum 3:45?" he said aloud.

"What?" Ruthie, who was in the room with him, said.

"On the sticky note, Mary wrote 'Mrs. Tatum 3:45'." Wilson turned to Ruthie. "Do you know who Mrs. Tatum is?"

"Um…my guidance counselor," Ruthie said reluctantly.

"Does she have a meeting with her?"

Ruthie shrugged her shoulders. "I hope not," she said under her breath.

The front door knob turned and Mary was revealed. Billy ran into the room, eager to see Mary. Mary walked inside, put her keys down, and did her nighttime ritual of taking off her navy pumps that killed her feet after standing in them for long periods of time. Ruthie smiled a hello to Mary, and Wilson walked over to her.

"Hi beautiful," Wilson said, kissing her on the cheek. He loved to smell the way the scent of her shampoo mixed with her natural pheromones. "How was work?"

"Awful. Tons of turbulence, not enough food; everyone was complaining."

"Well, I got you a slice of your favorite pizza," Wilson said gesturing to a piece of vegetable pizza with extra olives that was sitting on the counter.

"Thanks," she said appreciatively. "But first, I need to change. This shirt is bothering me."

Wilson nodded and Mary left the room, ruffling Billy's hair as she passed him.

Mary walked into her bedroom, took off her uniform shirt, and walked around the corner of the room over to the semi-walk-in closet in only her bra and skirt. Her not light brown hair hung just below her shoulders. The doorknob turned, startling Mary. She quickly grabbed something t cover herself.

"It's just me," Wilson said.

Mary smiled and stepped into the main part of the room, still half dressed.

"Very sexy," Wilson said as he walked toward Mary.

Mary hit his arm playfully and went in for a kiss. Wilson kissed Mary back, his hands finding her hips. When he kissed her again, Wilson moved his hands across her extremely flat stomach and rested them just beneath her breasts. Mary looked at Wilson anxiously and disdainfully, but unfortunately for Mary, Wilson did not move his hands. He kissed Mary's cheek, then moved his way down to her neck and over to her shoulder. He kissed her lips again, this time more passionately. After 30 seconds, Mary pulled away from his lips and stared at him. He knew it was time to turn it down.

"So, how was your day?"

"Ok, until Ruthie's guidance counselor called me. I have a meeting with her tomorrow."

"So I was right," Wilson said. Mary looked at him questioningly. "I read your sticky note."

"I see," she responded.

"So what is it about? Did she beat anyone up?"

"Not that I know of, but I wouldn't put it past her."

Wilson laughed, but Mary grabbed his hand seriously.

"I don't know what Mrs. Tatum wants to talk about, but Ruthie's immediate school future will probably come up. We have to have a talk with her tonight and make some plans."

Wilson nodded. "What type of plans?"

"School plans…life plans…"

Wilson squeezed Mary's hand, but she pulled away from him before he had a chance to overanalyze her emotions. Mary went back into the closet and put on a shirt.

There was a knock at the door and Billy walked inside.

"Mary, could you help me with my spelling words? My test is tomorrow."

"OK, but give me 10 minutes and we can do it over a bowl of ice cream."

"Mint chip?" Billy asked hopefully.

"Would I give my little guy anything else?" she said smiling.

Billy's face lit up. "OK," he said and walked out the door.

"You know," Wilson said to Mary," you're and incredible mother."

"Well, you're am incredible father. The way Ruthie and you have bonded; it couldn't have worked out any better."

Wilson looked straight into Mary's eyes. "When did Ruthie become our child?"

A distant look came over Mary's face and she got very quiet. "I'm so sorry Wilson. I never meant to mar our marriage. If only I-"

Wilson bent down and kissed Mary's lips. When they pulled away, and eerie silence filled the room while the couple stared at and through one another. Neither knew what to do or what to say. Did she "mar" their marriage? Things did seem to be better before Ruthie came along…or maybe that was only newlywed hype. Hey, they didn't have much to compare to. It's not like either one of them were experts on relationships or married life.

Please review!  
And to the person who commented on how long it is taking me to write this story, I just want to say that whether I turn out 3 chapters a day or 3 every 6 months, it's no one's problem but mine. Not to be rude, but if you like it it will be worth the wait. If not, stop reading.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Wilson decided to take the day off from work so that he could go with Mary and Ruthie to the meeting with Mrs. Tatum, Ruthie's guidance counselor. After an entire night of Mary and Ruthie screaming at each other, he was too exhausted to go into the office anyway. No one had gotten any sleep that night. The only thing Wilson had any energy for the next morning was to call someone to watch Billy when the rest of them went to Ruthie's school.

At 3:45 sharp, Mary, Wilson, and Ruthie walked into Mrs. Tatum's office. Each of them sat down in a chair as their anxiety began to build. What had Ruthie done? What was this about?

Mrs. Tatum pulled Ruthie's file out of a rather large filing cabinet to her left and sat it down on the desk in front of her. She pulled out a couple of sheets and then closed the manila folder.

"Well, let's get right down to it, shall we?" Mrs. Tatum said. Mary nodded thankfully. "Well the reason I asked you here was because Ruthie, as of right now, is failing her Cooking and Math classes."

Both Mary and Wilson looked disapprovingly down at Ruthie.

"What?" Ruthie said rudely. "My cooking teacher hates me. The only thing I did was burn a stupid grilled cheese sandwich, and after that she was giving me the evil eye."

"And what about math?" Wilson said. "You never told us you were having a problem with your math."

"Yeah," Mary said, "We could have helped you." Wilson smirked at Mary. "Well, Wilson could have helped you," Mary corrected herself.

Wilson turned to Mrs. Tatum. "Does she have time to pull up her grades?"

She nodded. "The semester does not end for another two and a half weeks. Ruthie has a math test on Thursday, and if she gets a B or higher on that her grade will greatly improve. And in Cooking, Mrs. Beecher said that Ruthie has a simple test coming up that includes setting the table, using the correct utensils, that sort of thing. I'm sure your sister can help you with that. It doesn't sound too hard." 

Ruthie nodded, and then an awkward silence filled the air. No one wanted to say what they were really thinking, but someone was bound to crack.

"So…" Mary said.

"How far along are you Ruthie?"

"Nearly six months."

"Do you know what you are having?"

"No, I want to be surprised," Ruthie told Mrs. Tatum unenthusiastically. 

Mary decided to take the initiative and just tell Ruthie's guidance counselor what she ultimately wanted to know. "Well, Ruthie and I were talking last night, and we decided that she was only going to stay in school for about 4 or 6 weeks longer. Would that be all right with the school?"

"Oh, I am sure that that would be fine as long as she had a doctor's note. And, if you don't mind me prying, what are you all going to do after the baby is born?"

Ruthie spoke up. "I'm going to stay in Florida and live with Mary and Wilson, and they're going to help me raise the baby."

"That's nice of them," Mrs. Tatum said smiling at Wilson who appeared kind of bored. He smiled back at the middle–aged woman. "Well, I guess we are done here. You're free to go." All four of them stood up. "And Ruthie, I hope to see an improvement in your grades."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ruthie responded as she headed out the door.

Mary and Wilson gracefully said their good-byes to Ruthie's guidance counselor and left the school hand in hand as Ruthie rushed off to the car five feet in front of them. Wilson smiled at Mary, but she shook her head.

"What are we going to do with her?" she asked.

"We're going to watch out for her so that she doesn't mess up her life any worse than she already has," Wilson responded frankly.

"I'm sorry," Mary said sullenly.

"For what?"

"For putting you, us, in the middle of this mess. It's not our problem and feel bad that it has become our problem."

"You feel bad for being a good sister?" Wilson asked her.

"I guess so."

Wilson smiled at Mary again and kissed the top of her head. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short and boring. I just had to get that stuff out of the way. The next chapter will be ahead a little bit and will be **_much_** more eventful, I promise. Well, thanks for reading and please review.


	9. Chapter 9

Nine weeks later, Ruthie was home full time and the baby was expected any day. Mary was working less and less and spent most of her time catering to a very fickle and irrational Ruthie. Sometimes Ruthie would scream, sometimes cry, and sometimes do nothing at all. Mary was just about at her breaking point with her little baby sister. She couldn't keep this up much longer.

Mary went into Ruthie's bedroom to see how she was doing, only to find Ruthie on the bed crying her eyes out.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm homesick," Ruthie said blatantly. Mary was surprised. "I want to go home to Mom and Dad, but I doubt they'll let me back in. Not after I came to live with you."

Mary shrugged off Ruthie's rude comment like she did most of the others that came out of the 13 year old's mouth. "You know that Mom and Dad love you. I am sure they would be happy to have you back in GlenOak if that is what you want."

"I don't know if that is what I want, but I think it is."

"What about staying here with me and Wilson?"

Ruthie shrugged her shoulders. "I just miss Mom and Dad. Don't you?"

"Honestly?" Mary asked. Ruthie nodded. "Not really. Why do you think I left and never came back?"

"Because Mom and Dad hate you, just like everyone else does besides me and Matt."

Mary swallowed hard. That was more than she needed to know. "Then why do you want to go back to that? I mean you would think-"

"You would think that since I lived here I started turning into you? Well I haven't. I'm still a Camden and you aren't anymore…because a Camden knows just as well as Dorothy from _The Wizard of Oz_ that 'there is no place like home'. This isn't home; it's some fantasy world. I need to go back to reality and the people who care about me."

"Don't think for one second that I don't care about you! I got you out of there when you couldn't stand to be there anymore."

"Yeah, but-"

Mary raised her voice to almost a yell. "And don't assume that this place is not 'home' just because it's not the place you grew up. It's home for me with my husband and my son. I'm older and I have a different perspective on things than you do. Just because you're mature and have a higher IQ than I do does not mean that I can't comprehend the meaning of family. Why do you think I took you in in the first place?! Because you are my sister and I love you! But if you don't agree with that…the maybe you shouldn't be here anymore."

Ruthie got haughty. "Maybe I shouldn't."

Mary slammed the door to Ruthie's room and locked herself in her own. She knew the fight she had with Ruthie was petty, but whenever anyone tried to judge her it always set her off. Her parents were another trigger, too. Ruthie had lived with Mary for nearly 8 months now and she didn't know her any better than her parents ever would. All three of them were close-minded and self-absorbed. She couldn't take that kind of stuff anymore. Unlike the rest of the Camden family, she had outgrown it.

Mary kicked her bed a few times before lying down on it. She covered her face with her hands as she started to explore the inner workings of her mind. For once, she figured out parts of the reason why she really was so upset. She wished she had the strength the forgive them. She wished she had the strength love them and that they had the strength to love her. She wished she could just go back home and everything would be OK, like she was back in high school without a care in the world. Well, those times had passed and with it went the strength and power of her youth and the ability to open up to another human being besides Wilson. She had no parents, no siblings- only a husband and a son. This was the hardest "restart" Mary had to face yet, and she was only 22.

Wilson walked in the door and Mary went over to greet him. She wrapped her arms around him firmly, determined not to let him slip out of her grasp. Wilson knew something was up by the way he held her. There was more longing behind it; a desire that came from within her that he did not fully understand.

"Are you all right Mare?" Wilson asked.

"I'm fine," she answered, being short with him.

"Are you sure? Because-"

"I'm sure. I just have a lot on my mind right now, that's all."

Wilson rubbed her back gently. "Like what?"

"Can we talk about this later?" she said finally pulling away from him.

"I guess so, but if something is going on you know that you can tell me."

Mary nodded forlornly. "Later."

Billy walked into the room and over to Mary. Mary didn't even notice him come over to her. Billy tugged on her shirt to get her attention.

"Now that Daddy is home, do you have time for me? Let him take care of Ruthie."

Mary just stared in front of her. Ruthie wanted to go back home to her loving parents and now Billy was feeling neglected; not only was she being perceived as a bad sister, but a bad mother as well. How much more was she going to have to give before she got something in return?

"I'm sorry Billy," Mary said, "but I haven't made dinner yet."

"Is that Ruthie's fault, too?" he said with a smug tone.

"No, it's my fault. I should have just left her alone and made dinner for everyone, but I didn't. I'm sorry kiddo."

"Wait a second," Wilson said. "Exactly what happened today?"

"Later," Mary said sounding aggravated.

Wilson looked at Mary, and then over at his son who was also in a bad mood. "Listen, why don't I make dinner while you go play something with Billy?" he offered to Mary.

Mary sighed heavily. "Ok Billy, let's go."

Billy went toward his bedroom and so did Mary. When she reached the doorway, she turned back to find Wilson still staring at her. She mouthed the words "I love you" to him and went into the 6 year old's room with a smile. Billy pulled out a tiny chair from his play table and instructed Mary to sit. She did as she was told, and Billy went over to his toy chest.

"What do you want to play?"

"Whatever you want."

"How about a board game?" he said.

"Sure."

"CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders?"

"Chutes and Ladders."

Billy pulled the box out and put it on the table in front of Mary. He took out the board and the pieces, giving Mary a girl member of the Chutes and Ladders gang and himself a boy one. Although he was happy he finally had Mary's undivided attention, he was still a little angry with her.

"What's wrong?" Mary finally asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why aren't you talking to me?" Billy did not respond. "Are you mad at me?"

Billy looked into Mary's eyes. "Yes."

That hurt Mary more than she ever expected it would. She always felt that she might as well have given birth to Billy because he was so much apart of her heart and her life. To have him say that broke the last remaining pieces inside of Mary that were still fastened together. "Oh," she said softly.

"You and me haven't talked for two weeks. You used to want to talk to me. Now all you care about is Ruthie. I'm you son now. Aren't you supposed to care about me, too?" 

Tears were starting to well up in Billy's eyes as Mary reached out and pulled him close to her body. Billy cried on Mary's shoulder as Mary began to cry on Billy's. Things were falling apart because she had spread her love to thin, and it rocked her little world that a six year old boy had to point out to her what no one else could. She was doing too much and loosing the simplest pleasures she had in life, like talking to Billy and lying in bed with Wilson at night when she was actually in a good mood.

Billy pulled away from Mary and, again, looked her in the eye. "When are things going to go back to normal?"

Mary knew that Billy wanted straight answer from her. Tomorrow, next week, on the fourth of July all would have been sufficient answers to Billy. Unfortunately, Mary could not give him a definite response. Nothing in her life was definite anymore. "I don't know."

Billy pouted. He did not like Mary's answer.

"Tell you what," Mary said, "how about you, me, and Dad make dinner together tonight, just like the old days."

"No Ruthie?" Billy asked.

"No Ruthie," Mary said standing up. "Besides, she is asleep anyway."

Mary and Billy joined Wilson in the kitchen. They stirred spaghetti sauce together, tossed a salad, and balled up some hamburger for meatballs- just like a real family would do. Wilson stole Mary away for a second so that they could "set the table". He put his arm around her waist and would not let her go until she turned to face him. 

"What?"

"Are you feeling OK? Are you tired? You don't look right," Wilson said.

"I feel fine and I'm not any more tired than I have been every other day for the past 6 months." Wilson let out a deep breath as Mary yanked his hands off of her. "Let's just eat this dinner now," she said.

Wilson nodded and went over next to Billy, helping him carry the salad to the table. Mary stared at her two men, a slight smile coming across her face. To the outsider it might have looked as if Mary was spacing out due to sheer exhaustion, but in all actuality things were clearer in her head at that moment than they had been in a long, long time. Too bad this would be the last meal they would have as a "normal" three person family unit.

(A/N: I hope you liked this chapter better than the last one. Next chapter: Mary confronts Ruthie, but does it help ease her pain? I'm anticipating two, maybe three, more chapters of this story. Then I will be off to the next one. I just want to finish this, though, because school is starting soon and it took me the whole summer plus to do this thing.)

Please please review! Your feedback makes my world go round. 


	10. Chapter 10

After dinner was eaten, the table was cleared, the dishes were done, and Billy was bathed and put to bed, Mary finally had time to get herself ready for bed. She hadn't talked to Wilson since she brushed him off while they were setting the table, and hadn't talked to Ruthie since their fight. Mary was still peeved from before and wasn't really in the mood to talk. She didn't want anyone telling her that she was ridiculous, or worse that she was right.

Wilson walked into the bedroom and found Mary sitting on the bed despondently. He walked over to her and she looked up at him.

"Now will you tell me what is going on with you?"

"If I have to."

Wilson sat down next to Mary and took her hand. "Well why don't you want to tell me? I thought you could tell me anything."

"I can, but I feel stupid."

"Why?"

"Because my fight with Ruthie was petty and the more I say it the more it comes off like I am a spoiled brat."

"What fight with Ruthie?" Wilson inquired.

"She told me that she wanted to go back home to GlenOak and I blew up at her. I took it like a personal insult that she would choose my parents over me. And I had to defend myself and my decisions _again_, and I'm mad at myself for constantly putting me in the same situation over and over."

"What situation?"

"The one where I get people to say what I want to hear: that my parents don't love me like they do everyone else. I just can't let that go. Apparently, moving on from that is not something I am capable of doing."

Wilson nodded like he understood, and that scared Mary. She was actually making sense; that was a first.

"And I think I know what is wrong with me. I feel like our life is a lie. Since my parents never really embraced our marriage, I kind of feel as if it doesn't exist. It's like we're playing house." Mary paused for a second as tears welled up n her eyes. "That's my fault, too. If I wasn't so stubborn we could have had a normal wedding and Ruthie wouldn't even be here. We could have had normal lives."

"Well, we could go back to GlenOak and renew our vows." Wilson suggested.

Mary huffed. "We haven't even been married a year."

"So? You're father could perform the ceremony, and we could do it in front of your family and my family and then it would feel real. And we could bring Ruthie back and everything would be OK," Wilson said optimistically.

"Too bad I'm not speaking to my parents."

Wilson frowned. "But you're still speaking to Ruthie, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I think you should go talk to her."

Mary looked at Wilson like he was nuts. "Why?"

"I think it will make you feel better."

Mary laid flat on the bed beneath her. "Maybe I don't want to feel better."

Wilson sighed. She always had to make things difficult for him. He turned to face Mary and put his hand on her stomach. "I really think it will help."

Mary put her hand on top of Wilson's and sat up. "I love you," she said, "and I'm sorry that I wasn't nice to you tonight and that I've been acting so crazy lately."

Wilson kissed the top of Mary's head. "Go talk to your sister," he instructed.

"Fine," Mary said as she walked to the door.

Feeling like he had done a good thing, Wilson got into bed and waited for Mary to come back so that they could go to sleep. Only five minutes after Wilson got under the covers, Mary's voice rang throughout the house. Then Ruthie's. Then Mary's again. Screaming and sobbing filled the small townhouse for a half an hour. Wilson eventually fell asleep, but awoke within seven minutes. When he reopened his eyes, he heard nothing. The yelling and crying seemed to have ceased for now. It scared him that they weren't fighting anymore, so he finally decided to go check on them. 

As he entered, Wilson was not sure of what to expect. Happily, he saw that Mary and Ruthie had both fallen asleep on Ruthie's bed. Wilson smiled at the sight of how peaceful they looked, like in their dreams all of their problems disappeared. Wilson scooped Mary up, one arm under her knees and the other underneath her arms. He carried her into the bedroom and laid her down gently onto the bed. When he put her down, her eyes fluttered open. She looked as if she was unfamiliar with her surroundings.

"It's OK Mare. You fell asleep and I carried you in here."

Mary closed her eyes again as Wilson covered her with the sheets. "Thank you."

Wilson got into bed beside Mary and rubbed up against her. Mary snuggled into Wilson and put her head on his chest.

"Do you feel better?" he whispered.

"I feel tired; really, really tired."

Wilson kissed Mary's forehead. "Sleep then. Goodnight."

"'Night." Mary squeezed Wilson in a little tighter than she usually did. If Mary learned one thing form that night, it was that her and Wilson's love was unconditional and beautiful. She should never take it for granted and should always embrace the moment. You never know what tomorrow might bring.

(A/N: I know this was short, but deal with it. Next chapter is when all the action happens, if you catch my drift.)

Thanks for reading and please review.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day started off like any average day did for the Wests and Ruthie. Wilson left for work just as Mary was waking up, and within the hour she was dressed and feeding Billy breakfast. Ruthie was still asleep when Mary went outside to walk Billy to the bus stop that was at the end of the street. 

The weather that day was beautiful, the epitome of splendor for the Sunshine State. The sky was a crisp azure blue with only slight wisps of clouds instead of the gigantic thunderheads that usually reared above everyone's heads. Winter in Florida was one of the few things Mary was grateful for in this world. The sun shone strong on the December morning, a warm 59 degrees with "a high of 63" expected by the end of the day. 

Mary and Billy always got to the bus stop earlier than most, giving Mary a chance to scope out the fellow children in the morning. She saw a boy who was in Billy's class and lived about three doors down from them coming to the corner. Billy went off to talk to him; Nicholas was his name if Mary remembered correctly. Then, two girls walked down the street. Mary recalled seeing them before, but she never really took notice until today. The girls were older than Billy, looking like they were going into the fourth and fifth grade. The younger one had blonde hair and the older had brown. They walked down the street giggling away and talking about how their older brother was such a pain. Mary observed the younger one look up at her elder with the utmost respect and love. They had to be sisters.

The bus came to a stop in front of Mary's face and the two girls walked onto the bus after Billy. As the bus pulled away, Mary sighed to herself and turned back to her house. "I miss Lucy," she thought. If anyone ever asked her about this Mary would undoubtedly deny it, but the truth was she needed someone to talk to right now. Wilson was not a woman, no matter how much he could relate to her. Mary wanted that strong sisterly connection that she had with Lucy. Not only that, but she wanted, no _needed_, a friend.

Mary walked back into the house and started to do the breakfast dishes. Since she didn't see Ruthie putting around, Mary was certain that she was not up yet. About 45 minutes later, Mary had the dishes finished and the living room picked up when the bathroom door opened and Ruthie appeared. She had a strange look on her face and it was obvious that she had been crying. Mary stared at Ruthie from the kitchen. She felt so badly that she had yelled at Ruthie the night before. Anything Ruthie was going through had to be twice as worse than anything that was bothering Mary.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked.

"I…I…"Ruthie grabbed her stomach as if she was in pain. "I think I'm having the baby."

Mary's face went white. Deep down she knew that this day was inevitable, but she never really thought that it would happen. She knew that Ruthie was pregnant and fully understood what that meant, but Ruthie just couldn't be a mother- at least not in Mary's eyes.

Ruthie grabbed her stomach again as she leaned against the wall and started to cry. Mary rushed over to her.

"Are you sure?"

Ruthie nodded.

"T-then I have to get you to the hospital."

Ruthie stared up into Mary's eyes for guidance. She grabbed Ruthie's hand and squeezed it gently. 

"Everything is going to be fine."

"I'm scared," Ruthie admitted for the first time.

"Don't be. I'll be right next to you…if you want me to be. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Now let's go."

They made it to the door before another contraction set in. Ruthie grabbed onto Mary's arm for dear life and closed her eyes tightly. More tears fell, but eventually it was all over and they made it to the car. Miraculously, Ruthie made through the entire ride to the hospital without another contraction. As soon as she stepped inside, however, another hit. Ruthie breathed through it and persevered enough to make it into a room. Mary saw her in before ducking out to call Wilson on her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Wilson…" Mary wanted it say more but she couldn't. She had started to cry harder and the words just would not come out.

"Mary? What's wrong? Are you crying?" Wilson could still hear her sobbing, but she said nothing. "Mare, calm down and talk."

Mary wiped her eyes. "I'm at the hospital. Ruthie is having the baby."

Wilson was unable to say anything until the shock wore off.  She was actually going to do this. "Is she OK?"

"Yeah, she's all right, but I'm not."

"OK, I'll go pick Billy up from school and I'll be right there."

"Bye."

Mary pulled herself together and walked back into Ruthie's room. Inside, she found Dr. Hammond talking to Ruthie.

"Mary, hello," he greeted her.

"So, is she OK? Is she really having the baby?"

"Yes, everything seems to be fine and she is indeed in labor."

Another contraction came and Mary rushed over to Ruthie's side. It only lasted for a few seconds, and for that Ruthie was very thankful. 

"Well," Dr. Hammond said, "she is only dilated about 2 centimeters, if that, so from what I can tell we're going to be here for a while. I'll come back and check on her in a about a half an hour."

Mary smiled at the doctor and he walked to the door. Just before he left, he turned back around to Mary. "If you don't mind me asking; you've never had a baby have you Mary?" Mary shook her head. "Well, if you guys have any questions, concerns, anything at all, just get someone to come and find me. You two are some of my favorite ladies…and you and I both know I see my share of women."

Ruthie and Mary both smiled. "Thanks," they said in unison.

Dr. Hammond walked all the way out the door and left Mary and Ruthie alone. Ruthie grabbed Mary's hand and stared at the floor. 

"Ruthie, I'm sorry for yelling at you all the time. I should have been a lot nicer to you while you were here."

"Yeah you should have, but I'll forgive you if you forgive me for bringing up Mom and Dad all the time."

"Done."

Ruthie sighed heavily. "So, did you call Wilson?"

"Yeah, and he was leaving right then to go pick up Billy. They'll be here in a little while."

"Good," Ruthie responded with a smile.

"You really like Wilson, don't you?" Ruthie nodded. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. He's just really nice to me; he treats me like a real human being and not just some messed up kid. And he's a very good listener, too."

"Yeah, he is." A smile crept up on Mary's face, followed by the onset of tears welling up in her eyes.

Mary and Ruthie sat in silence for a while until there was a knock on the door. Mary and Ruthie both looked up.

"Uh, come in," Mary said.

The door opened and Wilson's head poked through the crack.

"Thank God," Mary said aloud. She got up from her chair and looked down at Ruthie. "I'll be right back, OK?"

"Don't take too long."

Mary nodded but didn't really pay any mind to honoring Ruthie's request. She just needed to see Wilson right now. She walked outside and threw her arms around Wilson. He held her back and wiped the tears that were flowing freely down her face.

"How is Ruthie doing?"

"She's OK."

"What about my wife? How's she doing?"

"Not great."

"Wife?" someone said from behind them. Mary turned around to see Dr. Hammond. More time must have passed than she had realized. "So this must be the infamous Wilson that I've heard so much about. It's a pleasure," he said sticking his hand out to Wilson for him to shake.

"And you are?" Wilson said.

"Dr. Hammond, Ruthie's doctor."

"Oh, right."

Dr. Hammond crouched down. "And who is this little guy?" he said to Billy.

"This is Billy, our son," Mary said.

The doctor looked perplexed. "But you said…"

"I know. I didn't give birth to Billy," she clarified.

"Oh, I see," he said trying not to make a big deal out of it. "It's nice to meet you, too, sport. But if you can excuse me, I have to go check on your aunt."

"Aunt?" Billy said.

Wilson put his hand on Billy's back. "C'mon son."

Wilson, Mary, and Billy all went into the maternity waiting room. Surprisingly, there was no one else in there. A television was suspended from the ceiling, tuned to a news network. Wilson reached up and flipped through the channels until he found some cartoons to keep Billy occupied. Instantly he was glued. Billy settled into the second-rate couch and Mary sat down with Wilson on the other end. Mary leaned her head on Wilson's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. Wilson wondered what was wrong with Mary, but he hesitated to ask her. No one needed her to be crying again.

"Tell me she's going to be OK. Tell me that nothing is going to happen to her and she'll give birth to a beautiful boy or girl and eventually her life will be in order."

"She's going to be OK, and after she gives birth to a healthy baby everything will be fine."

Mary sighed. "I want to believe that but I can't. I must be more scared than she is."

"Is that why you were crying before?"

"No, I was crying before because all this was going on and I don't have the energy to deal with it. You have no idea how tired I am right now."

"Are you getting sick or something?"

"I don't think so. I've just done too much lately."

"Then sleep," Wilson suggested.

"What? Here?"

"Why not?"

"Because Ruthie is in labor!"

"So? The baby's not going to just pop out of her right this instance, is it?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing." Wilson pulled Mary in closer to him. "Sleep. I'll wake you up if things get interesting."

Mary wanted to protest, but the opportunity of sleep sounded too good to pass up. Mary leaned up and kissed Wilson on the lips before settling into him and quickly falling asleep. It seemed like Mary had just shut her eyes when Wilson shook her awake.

"Get up," he said gently, "you've been asleep for an hour and a half. They're moving Ruthie into the delivery room."

Mary's eyes shot open. "Oh, is that all?" she said sarcastically.

"Well, not quite. Guess who I just met?"

Mary sat up and rubbed her eyes before standing up on her own two feet. "I don't know, the president?" Mary said as she walked to the door.

Wilson stopped her before she left by grabbing her arm. "Peter," Wilson said clearly. "Peter's here."

Mary stopped dead in her tracks. What did that low-lying scum want with Ruthie now? Was it not enough that he deflowered Ruthie? He needed more? "Are you serious?" she said.

"Unfortunately yes, and from the story Peter is telling Ruthie is very happy to see him."

"If he lays one hand on her…" Mary said as she stormed off in the direction of Ruthie's room. Mary opened the door and saw Ruthie gazing lovingly into Peter's eyes as he held her hand. They hadn't even noticed that Mary had entered the room. It was at that second that Mary knew she had lost Ruthie. She was long gone and needed more help then Mary could ever give her.

"Mary!" Ruthie finally said in a chipper tone. "You're up! How was your nap?"

"Fine," she snapped back.

Another contraction came, and Ruthie clenched Peter's hand tightly. Mary watched Peter wince as Ruthie squeezed the life out of his fingers. "Wimp," she thought as she watched him. Ruthie breathed through the contraction and when it finally stopped, Mary had to put her two cents in.

"So, Wilson tells me that this young man is Peter."

"Yup."

"You're Mary, right?" Peter said.

"Yes." Mary grit her teeth and went on to further interrogate the 13 year old boy. "So, what brings you to our fine city?"

"The train. When my mom found out I got Ruthie pregnant, she shipped me off to live with my crazy aunt in Missouri. I tried to stop thinking about Ruthie but I couldn't. I knew that her due date should be approaching, and I asked my aunt if I could come out here. She acted totally insane and let me come al the way by myself, just like that."

"Well, it is a very important day," Mary added.

"I guess so."

At this point Mary was fuming. Didn't he realize that today he life was going to change forever, all because he couldn't keep his pants on? A nurse came in and wheeled Ruthie's bed out into the delivery room, leaving Mary alone and flabbergasted. She walked back into the waiting room and plopped down in the spot next to Wilson.

"I hate him," she announced.

Wilson didn't say anything.

"What did you think of him?"

"Do you want the truth?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I didn't get a good feeling from him. Maybe it's just because of what he did to Ruthie, but I don't know."

Mary put her head in her hands. "This is not good, you know. Not good at all."

A/N: For all of you that guessed Ruthie would go into labor, CONGRATULATIONS, you were right. Next chapter will most likely be the last, unless I split my ideas up into two smaller chapters.

Next chapter: Ruthie has the baby, Mary makes a phone call, and Peter has an impact on everybody's lives.

Please review!!! I live off of your feedback.


	12. Chapter 12

Last chapter! Make sure you read the other two prior to this one before reading this.

An hour and half later, Mary came rushing back into the waiting room. She had left because Ruthie was having the baby, or "starting to push" as the nurse said who came to get Mary. Now, she had some big news.

Mary flung the door open, startling Billy who was still entranced by the television. She had a big smile on her face as she searched for Wilson's eyes before speaking. The door hit the wall and he looked up at her.

"She had it! A girl! 8 pounds 10 ounces!"

"Really?" Billy said in amazement.

"Yup," Mary answered as she reached down to hug him. When she let go, Wilson was standing next to her.

"That's great Mare," Wilson said. "How is she?"

"Ruthie? She's glowing."

Wilson smiled and Mary hugged him. She was overjoyed for Ruthie, completely forgetting the fact that Ruthie hadn't even been 13 for that long and she was now a mother.

"Can I see the baby?" Billy asked hopefully.

"Not yet, honey, but soon."

"How soon?"

Mary smiled. "Really soon."

Wilson grabbed her hand and smiled at Mary. "What is she naming her?"

"She's thinking about it." Mary's face went sour. "With Peter…she's thinking about it with Peter. I don't like that kid. I really don't."

"Why not?"

"Because…he wasn't very nice to me. He had no respect or remorse…or apprehension. He should have those things. And his story sounds sketchy."

"How is it 'sketchy'?"

"It just is. He left a lot out. Like, how did he know where to find Ruthie? And where is he staying? I'll tell you one thing; he is not setting foot in my house. Not now, not ever."

Wilson sighed. "But Mary, he is the father. Ruthie could use the help…you could use the help."

"Who said he was sticking around?"

Wilson looked down at the dingy brown carpeting on the floor, unable to have this conversation with Mary. "Not here, not now" was his policy. "Could we talk about something else?" he said before things got too out of hand.

"Like what?" she said sitting down on the couch.

"Oh, I don't know. How about whose going to call your family and give them the big news."

Mary froze. She completely overlooked that aspect of harboring Ruthie during her pregnancy. She didn't want to talk to anyone in her family, except for maybe one person.

"I'll do it if you guys want me to."

"No, I'll do it," Mary offered.

Wilson was shocked. Instantaneously, he wondered what Mary's ulterior motive was for wanting to talk to her family, and what the repercussion would be from this conversation. With that aside, he did have to admit that he was proud of Mary. She was acting civil and very mature, and that didn't happen too often.

"Good for you, Mare."

Mary reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "I'll go do that now." Mary looked Wilson in the eyes and forced a weak smile. "One for the road?" she said.

"Sure," Wilson responded. He kissed Mary's lips lasciviously, and she quickly pulled away from him. "I love you," he said to her as she stood. 

Mary nodded. "I know," she said, and walked out the door. Mary wasn't thinking clearly. The only thought that was going through her mind was how she was going to tell the person she was calling the big news. "It's a girl!" she contemplated, but that didn't seem right. It was short and to the point, but it was also informal and rude. 

Mary walked out of the hospital and leaned against the brick building. Next to her was a sign that read "erected in 1961." Mary stared at it. '61. The two numbers of the telephone number she had started to dial were 6-1.

The phone rang.

"Hello?" said a chipper voice on the other end.

Mary took a deep breath of Florida air. "Lucy?"

There was no respond on the other end, just dead silence.

"Are you still there?"

"Is this who I think it is?" she questioned.

Mary gulped and licked her lips. Her mouth was bone dry. "It's Mary, your sister."

"You may be Mary, but you are not-"

Mary cut her off. She had anticipated this reaction. "Ruthie had her baby."

"She did?" Lucy said quietly.

"Yeah."

"What did she have?"

Mary smiled. At least Lucy was talking to her a little. "A girl."

There was a pause. "Wow." Another pause. "Well, um, bye."

The line went dead. Mary looked at the LCD screen of her cell phone. "End call, 8:37 PM." Mary sighed heavily. Well, she did it. She called home and nothing bad happened. She even got to talk to Lucy, something that made her hurt worse than it helped. Mary thought about the two girls at the bus stop that morning. How she wished she could be that age again. Then she would be able to run around unfettered and free, with her little sister by her side and a loving family to go home to. 

Mary made her way back into the hospital, up four floors, and into the waiting room once again. She looked as if nothing had happened, like she had merely steeped outside to receive from fresh air.

Wilson rushed up to her. "So?"

Mary slumped back down into the uncomfortable couch. "So nothing. I called, I talked, I hung up. No big deal."

Wilson just shook his head at Mary. Just then, a nurse entered the room. "Ruthie can have some visitors now," she told Mary.

Mary, Billy, and Wilson followed the nurse into the new room they had moved Ruthie into. Mary walked in to see Ruthie holding a gorgeous baby girl in her arms and Peter sitting in a chair next to Ruthie.

"Hey," Mary said quietly.

"Hi guys," Ruthie said to the three of them.

Billy clung to Mary and Mary clung to Wilson. They never looked more like a family than they did at that moment.

"That's the baby?" Billy asked Mary.

"Yeah, that's her," Mary said.

"She's so tiny."

"You were that little once," Wilson told his son. "We all were."

"It's amazing," Billy added.

"Yeah," Ruthie said, "it is."

Mary smiled at her sister. "So what did you decide to name her?"

"Natalie. Natalie Elizabeth Camden."

"I like it," Mary said.

The baby cooed in Ruthie's arms. "She likes it, too."

"Can I hold her?" Billy asked Ruthie.

"OK," she responded.

Mary helped Billy climb up on the bed and Ruthie put the baby in Billy's arms. Mary put her hand underneath Billy's to help support the baby's head as Wilson made his way over to Peter.

"Congratulations," he said to him.

"Yeah, I guess," he responded.

Wilson then went over to Ruthie. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"I'm still in some pain but it's nothing compared to before." Mary was right in what she said about Ruthie before. She really was "glowing".

Wilson bent down and gave Ruthie a hug. "Congratulations Ruthie."

"Thanks," she said smiling.

Mary took the baby from Billy and gave her back to Ruthie. "Well, I've had enough for today," she announced. "I think we're going to go home; it's getting late. Is that OK with you?"

Ruthie nodded. "I'll be just fine. You guys go."

Mary kissed the top of Ruthie's head. "I love you."

"I love you, too, and thanks for everything."

"Anytime. I'll be back tomorrow morning. Good night."

Mary, Wilson, and Billy left the hospital and went home for the night. Mary didn't say much, she just went right to sleep. The next day, Billy stayed home from school and Wilson got the day off from work. They got up a little later than normal and went down to the hospital around 10:30. They took the elevator up to Ruthie's room and went inside. When they walked in, however, the room was empty. This was still Ruthie's room, though. Her file was still in the pocket on the end of the bed. Mary walked toward the pillows and found a piece of paper.

Dear Mary,  
I love Natalie with all of my heart, but I just can't take care of her right now. I am too young to be a mother. I'm still a kid myself. Tonight, I had the papers drawn up and gave up custody of Natalie. I want you to take care of her for me. I don't trust her with anyone but you. All you and Wilson have to do is sign the papers and she will be yours to love. One thing I ask is that you raise her as your daughter, not your niece, and treat with as much compassion and respect as you do with Billy.

I went with Peter to live with his aunt in Missouri. I hope that you understand.

Lots of love to you all- especially my daughter,  
Ruthie

**The End**

A/N: The whole custody thing I know nothing about. I made it up. Besides that, did you like it? Cliffhanger-ish I know, but the first chapter of the next story will be up soon. Look for it!

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS STORY!**


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